Indoor Pet Silkie

I have an indoor pet Silkie, she has a coop in the house, plus spends time outside as well. My question is, is it safe to put "Feline Fresh" litter in her indoor coop. It is "a natural by-product of the lumber industry" There are no chemicals or toxins, it is entirely made of pine product. I wonder if she would try to eat this. I just want to put a fine layer on the bottom of the coop to help keep down the odor. Any suggestions will be welcomed. She is my first and only chicken, so I am still learning

First, I would suggest get a second Silkie. Chickens are very social animals and dont do well by themselves. Second, move them to the garage maybe. You can put in an outside pop door so they can enjoy the outdoors like chickens do and you can maybe add another door to the inside of your so you can enjoy them there. There are very dusty animals and love looking for bugs and pecking at things in the grass and dirt. Just my two cents.....Love your attention and dedication to your animals.....Very lucky Silkie

So what does your indoor coop look like? I am thinking about getting some chicks this winter and keeping them in a huge ferret cage and exercise pen I have after they grow out of the brooder but before they're ready to tolerate all the snow we will still have until summer time. lol.

Dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, all can bring disease in the house, I think Silkies are fine in the house and even Tori Spelling has a pet silkie in the house. I like horse wood pellets but the cat litter may be okay... Maybe someone with experience will chime in. . I agree that chickens are flock animals and you should have another one for company. Frequent outdoor time should be encouraged.

This is the coop we bought for indoors (Amazon) I just put puppy training pads down with some shavings...it works well.This is the coop we use for outdoors, again Amazon. They both are from Ware...good luck!

we had a single silky inside. used Bermuda hay for his bedding. add a fresh layer a day to keep down the smell clean it out once or twice a week. hay bale of hay would probably last all year and cost less than 10 bucks. I would be afraid to use the pine bedding. If she did ingest it I don't know what would happen. as long as she gets plenty of attention it's okay to have 1. I am fortunate to be self employed and took hours to work with me. he did get to spend a lot of time outside when he was inside I always kept fresh grass and dandelion leaves hanging. it is fun to have a pair also they keep each other a lot of company

I don't think chickens "have to have" companionship of another chicken unless they are treated as "regular chickens". If they're raised in a house with a human being as constant companionship it's a different situation than a chicken left outside in a coop by themselves 24/7...entirely different. A flock need not consist of chickens...it can consist of 1 chicken, 1 dog, and 1 guinea pig who all adore each other. It can also consist of 1 chicken and 1 human with daily interaction. It depends on how much time you have on your hands to spend with her.

There are many people with only 1 indoor pet chicken and the chickens are perfectly happy...you don't "need" another chicken to keep it company in a situation like yours.

People say the same thing about parakeets and ours is perfectly happy by herself - with free range of the entire house. Her only issue is perch humping due to no "mate", but that is a hormonal reaction and not an emotional need; she's a very delightful and happy bird.

To answer your question you asked and nobody has answered yet - the pellet form of Feline Fresh is fine for chickens. The clumping form of Feline Fresh is not fine, because it can and will accumulate and clump inside their crop, causing serious impaction. Per Dr. Arelan - board certified veterinary surgeon.

I would advise against either one, but only because they are for cats, not chickens. I'd stick with a mix of pine shavings, DE and Sweet PDZ.

Whatever you decide to do I'm sure your pet Silkie is perfectly happy just being with you, and thank you for sharing a picture with us!